Methods of making snack food products and products made thereby

ABSTRACT

Methods of making low-fat or fat free snack food products, and products made according to the methods, in which food pieces are subjected to enzyme and/or cation treatment and/or specific cooking and/or drying techniques, to provide for snack food products having the texture, flavor, and other characteristics of conventional full-fat products.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/054,323, filed Oct. 15, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/090,845, filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which is a U.S.National Stage Filing under 35 U.S.C. 371 from International ApplicationNo. PCT/US2006/038963, filed Oct. 4, 2006, published in English as WO2007/041679, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)to U.S. Provisional Patent Ser. No. 60/723,880, filed Oct. 4, 2005, andto U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/820,743, filed Jul. 28,2006, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to methods of making low-fat,fat free, or full-fat snack food products, and products made accordingto the method, in which food pieces are subjected to enzyme and/orcation treatment and/or specific cooking and/or drying techniques, toprovide for snack food products having the texture, flavor, and othercharacteristics of conventional full-fat products.

Snack food products typically are made by frying sliced vegetable piecesin hot oil so that the moisture content of the sliced food pieces isreduced to a very low level and fat content is raised exponentially.Such products generally have a characteristic crispness that addssignificantly to its organoleptic desirability. Fried potato or applechips prepared using conventional methods generally have a fat contentfrom about 30 percent to about 40 percent by weight, a percentage of fatthat is considered by some to be unhealthy if these types of productsare broadly substituted for low-fat foods and consumption is significantover time. While such products are accepted in the marketplace,consumers' desire to lower their fat consumption, limits thisacceptance.

Furthermore, the conventional methods generally used, require thesefoods to be fried at high temperatures that can result in the productionof potentially deleterious by-products. Reports of such by-products inrecent years have led to general concerns about both fried and bakedfoods, especially those containing high amounts of fats andcarbohydrates. Reports of acrylamide formation, generally in proportionto the degree of browning of foods high in fats and carbohydrates, haveraised significant concerns within the food industry, the potential forharmful effects of this particular processing by-product.

To address some of these concerns, efforts have been made to reduce theamount of fat in such snack food products, and more recently, to findways to minimize formation of potentially deleterious substances such asacrylamide and the like.

In recent years, “light” chips have been made using synthetic oils/fatthat is substantially non-digestible and consequently non-absorbable bythe human body, e.g. OLESTRA™. These products have received limitedacceptance due in part to off-flavors perceived by some reports ofdetrimental gastrointestinal side effects and an FDA requirement of awarning label on such products, providing information that such fatsubstitutes may cause gastrointestinal side effects such as loose stoolsand abdominal cramping and/or the inhibition of absorption of somenutrients.

While products such as potato and apple chips are typically made usingconventional frying methods, snack food products made with othernutritionally beneficial vegetables and fruits such as carrots, squash,parsnips, yuccas, pears, and the like have not successfully entered themarket substantially due to the lack of proper processing methods.

There have been numerous efforts in the past to reduce the amount of fatin snack foods such as potato chips.

Roan (U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,631) discloses a method of making fried foodin which raw food product is treated with an aqueous solution of anenzyme, such as alpha amylase, for a period of time sufficient for theenzyme to penetrate and coat the surface of the food, and thereafter thefood product is deep fried. Roan indicates that when the surface of araw, starchy food product is coated with an aqueous solution of alphaamylase prior to frying, less fat is absorbed in the food during fryingthan occurs without the enzyme treatment, and the flavor of the friedfood is improved.

Dreher et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,916) discloses a process forproducing low oil potato chips comprising washing potato slices with anaqueous solution, and applying oil to the washed slices to coat theslices with oil. The oil-coated slices are arranged as a monolayer on anendless conveyor belt, blanched at a temperature between about 160° F.and 212° F., and then baked at a high temperature of at least about 390°F. but below the smoke point of the oil, to partially dry the slices byreducing the aqueous moisture content of the slices to about 10-20% byweight. The partially dried slices then are further baked at a lowertemperature of about 290°-320° F. to finish drying the slices byreducing the aqueous moisture content of the slices to about 2% byweight or less, to produce a product having an oil content of betweenabout 10-25% by weight.

Laufer (U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,540) discloses a process for preparingpotato chips comprising the steps of washing potatoes to remove foreignmatter from the skin thereof, cutting the potato into thin slices,baking the slices for a period of about six to twelve minutes within atemperature range of about 250 to 500° F., and heating the slices in amicrowave oven for about two to seven minutes.

Yamashita (U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,631) discloses a method for preventingcut pieces of agricultural products from sticking to each other duringthe steps of drying and cooking, which includes washing the cut pieceswith, or immersing the same in, a solution of an amylolytic enzyme, oran acidic or alkaline aqueous solution. The cut pieces are blanchedprior to enzyme treatment.

Zussman (U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,898) discloses a cooking process for foodchip products that does not involve oil-based cooking Food slices arewashed with water to remove extractable surface starch, multi-layered,transported to an oven, and baked in a fluidized bed of hot air orsteam. The baking process is a multi-step process, whereby the foodslices are exposed to a higher pressure in a first zone for severalminutes to ensure that the individual food pieces are separated. Thepressure is then lowered in a second zone for a second period of time.Similarly, in a third zone the pressure is reduced for a predeterminedperiod of time to finish cooking the food products. Thereafter the chipsare air-dried or finished in a dryer.

Lewis et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,758) discloses the preparation oflow-fat or fat free potato chips or straws by a process comprisingslicing potatoes to form slices or straws, blanching the sliced potato,and treating the slices during or after blanching with a hightemperature amylase enzyme to prevent later sticking together of slicesduring processing. The slices are thereafter dehydrated to a moisturecontent of 12% to 30%, and thereafter toasted to about 2% moisture at atemperature of 140° C. to 220° C. The use of a high temperature amylaseis required so that the enzyme remains effective during processing, andis not inactivated by the blanching step.

Petelle et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,600) discloses a method of makingfat-free potato chips, by initially cooking potato slices in a threezone primary oven, by first radiant heating the slices and thensubjecting the slices to two successive stages of forced air heating toreduce the moisture content of the slices to near a final moisturecontent. Petelle et al. further discloses independently controlling thetime duration in each of the three zones, simultaneously forcing the airinto the top and bottom surfaces of the slices in the primary oven to anear final moisture content of about 15% by weight, independentlycontrolling the time duration of the slices in the dielectric heater toa final moisture content of about 7% by weight using wavelengths ofabout 65.8 feet at a frequency of about 15 mhz, and allowing the slicesto successively, increasingly pile up in the last two forced air stagesand the dielectric heating stage.

Benson et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,973) discloses a process for makingpotato chips without the use of oil, wherein whole potatoes are cut intodiscrete slice pieces which are washed to remove starch or debris fromthe slice surfaces. The slices are arranged in a single layer and thesurface water is removed from the slice surfaces by exposing them toblasts of air and suction. Alternatively, the slices may be washed inwarm water at a temperature of about 130° F. to preheat them. The slicesare transferred to a heated conveyor to enter an infrared zone forexposure to high intensity infrared energy for a short period of time,less than 25 seconds, effecting a blanching of the slices and quenchingof naturally-occurring deleterious enzyme action. In a subsequent step,dry air is impinged upon the slices from above and below to reduce thewater content below 35% by weight. The slices are accumulated in amulti-layer pack and dried in moving air until moisture content has beenobtained to a level on the order of 0.5% to 2%.

Wiedersatz (U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,431) discloses a method for preparingfat-free snack chips, comprising preparing slices of raw food product,which are subjected to a high intensity air knife arrangement to removesurface moisture, then exposed to a hot air fluid bed impingementincluding multiple dual-zone hot air fluid bed impingement ovensoperating under different predetermined conditions. In the preferredembodiment, the slices are exposed to two dual-zone hot air fluid bedimpingement ovens, the first oven having a conveyor belt transportingslices through the oven at a speed of 2.5 to 3.0 feet per minute andoperating at 500 to 525° F. (zone 1) and 450 to 500° F. (zone 2), andthe second oven having a conveyor belt operating at a speed of 1.5 to2.0 feet per second and at 350 to 400° F. (zone 1) and 300 to 350° F.(zone 2). The first impingement oven of the preferred embodiment removesapproximately 50 to 60 percent of the moisture in each slice, while thesecond impingement oven of the preferred embodiment removesapproximately 20 to 30 percent of the remaining moisture. The slices maythen have oil and/or seasoning applied thereto, and are passed to acombination microwave and hot air dryer which removes entrained moisturewithout scorching the chips.

Xu et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0004085) discloses methodsfor producing a consumable product from potatoes, comprising: (a)treating a potato substance with an effective amount of one or moreexogenous enzymes selected from the group consisting of anamyloglucosidase, glucose oxidase, laccase, lipase, maltogenic amylase,pectinase, pentosanase, protease, and transglutaminase, and (b)processing the enzyme-treated potato substance to produce a potatoproduct. In one embodiment, blanching of the potato substance may occurprior to enzyme treatment. The processing step may include frying in oilor baking

Despite the many advances in the processing of snacks and chips, therenevertheless remains a need for improvements to these products, and theprocesses for making them, characterized by improved crispness, mouthfeel and flavor properties, reduction of fat content and overallimprovement in nutritional profile, including minimization of exposureto conditions that can result in the formation of potentiallydeleterious by-products, all resulting from processes that are feasible,efficient, manageable, and are practically and economically scaleablefor production at output levels necessary for product commercializationin an adequately fuel efficient production environment. There alsoremains a need for eliminating the conventional deep frying processesthat traditionally have been used for the production of full-fat andsome reduced fat snack foods, and controlling the amount of fat in suchproducts to provide a predetermined amount. Further, there remains aneed for snack food products made from certain fruits vegetables, nuts,grains and the like, or the healthier versions of numerous currentlyavailable snack products, not previously feasible to make and themethods for their production.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method ofmaking a snack food product comprising,

(a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces;

(b) exposing the food pieces to a solution comprising one or moreenzymes to coat the surface thereof;

(c) thereafter blanching the plurality of food pieces for a timesufficient to inactivate any enzymes on the surface of the food pieces,wherein the food pieces have an initial moisture level after theblanching step; and

(d) reducing the initial moisture level to a final moisture level ofabout 0.5 to about 10% by weight.

A second embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method ofmaking a snack food product comprising,

(a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces;

(b) exposing the food pieces to a solution comprising one or morecations to coat the surface thereof;

(c) thereafter blanching the plurality of food pieces for a timesufficient to inactivate any enzymes on the surface of the food pieces,wherein the food pieces have an initial moisture level after theblanching step; and

(d) reducing the initial moisture level to a final moisture level ofabout 0.5 to about 10% by weight.

A third embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method ofmaking a snack food product comprising,

(a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces;

(b) blanching the plurality of food pieces for a time sufficient toinactivate any enzymes on the surface of the food pieces, wherein thefood pieces have an initial moisture level after the blanching step; and

(c) reducing the initial moisture level to a final moisture level ofabout 0.5 to about 10% by weight by exposing the food pieces to a firstmoisture level reduction procedure which reduces the initial moisturelevel to an intermediate moisture level of about 10 to about 80% byweight, and thereafter exposing the food pieces to a second moisturelevel reduction procedure which reduces the intermediate moisture levelto the final moisture level. The second moisture level reductionprocedure, among other feasible procedures, may include frying the foodpieces in an oil or oil substitute.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention is directed to a snack foodproduct comprising cut or shaped food pieces, wherein each of the foodpieces has a predetermined fat content of less than 1 to about 35% byweight, an average force of fracture of less than or equal to 12 N, andan average Young's modulus of equal to or greater than about 3.5 N/mm.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method ofmaking a snack food product comprising,

(a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces;

(b) blanching the plurality of food pieces, wherein the food pieces havean initial moisture level after the blanching step; and

(c) reducing the initial moisture level to a final moisture level ofabout 0.5 to about 10% by weight by drying the food pieces in one stepor multiple steps wherein at least one step is conducted in a rotarydryer, a fluidized bed dryer, a vibrating fluidized bed dryer and thelike or combinations thereof while controlling the temperature, air flowand movement of the food pieces to allow for even and constant exposureof the food pieces to heat.

A sixth embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method ofmaking a snack food product comprising,

(a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces;

(b) blanching the plurality of food pieces, wherein the food pieces havean initial moisture level after the blanching step; and

(c) reducing the initial moisture level to an intermediate moisturelevel of about 10 to about 80% by weight while controlling thetemperature, air flow and movement of the food pieces to allow for evenand constant exposure of the food pieces to heat, and thereafterexposing the food pieces to a second moisture level reduction procedurewhich reduces the intermediate moisture level to the final moisturelevel.

A seventh embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method ofmaking a snack food product comprising,

(a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces;

(b) thereafter blanching the plurality of food pieces for a timesufficient to inactivate any enzymes on the surface of the food pieces,wherein the food pieces have an initial moisture level after theblanching step; and

(c) reducing the initial moisture level to a final moisture level ofabout 0.5 to about 10% by weight in accordance with any of theaforementioned embodiments herein, either (i) without the application ofa solution comprising enzymes or cations or (ii) by exposing the foodpieces to a solution comprising at least a combination of one or moreenzymes and one or more cations in any feasible manner to coat thesurface thereof.

A frying step and/or a drying step using a vacuum dryer, a vacuum beltdryer, and the like can be inserted as a reducing step, preferably thefinal drying step, in any of the aforementioned embodiments.

An eighth embodiment of the present invention is snack food productsmade from vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and other consumableingredients, and any combination thereof, and the method of theirproduction, where the commercial production of such snack foods, or theproduction of their healthier versions, were not previously feasible.

Additional features of the invention can be understood in reference tothe accompanying descriptive matter in which there is illustrated anddescribed preferred embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a snack foodproduct processed in such a manner so as to provide a plurality of cutor shaped food pieces that have a taste, texture and/or appearance ofconventionally produced products made by a process including a step inwhich the food pieces are fried in oil (typically at temperatures ofgreater than about 300° F.). Preferably, a snack food product preparedin accordance with the present invention has at least one, preferably atleast three, preferably at least five, of the following attributes: acrisp texture, a fat content of less than about 0.5% by weight, amoisture content of greater than about 0.5% by weight, a ratio ofpercent by weight of moisture to percent by weight of fat of at leastabout 12, and the food pieces will fracture at less than or equal toabout 12 N and have an average Young's modulus of equal to or greaterthan about 3.5 N/mm.

In yet another preferred embodiment the present invention provides asnack food product and the method of its production and/or cookingprocessed in such a manner so as to provide a plurality of cut or shapedfood pieces that (i) have a new and/or unique taste, texture and/orappearance, or (ii) have less fat and/or are considered as healthierversions of currently available products, or (iii) have been made fromvegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, legumes or any other consumableingredients and their combination thereof where the production of suchproducts were not previously feasible due to lack proper productionand/or cooking methods.

Surprisingly, the present invention has been found to retain the desiredhigh quality, flavor, texture, appearance and consumer acceptability ofhigh-fat snacks, through certain desirable treatment of the rawmaterials and subsequent cooking under conditions that eliminates,optionally minimizes, and/or controls the amount of contact with fats,such as oils or oil substitutes, and limit the potential for producingpotentially deleterious by-products. Further, in contrast with knownconventional frying methods, the food pieces may be infused with apredetermined amount of fat in a ‘totally controlled environment’ duringthe production process. In addition to being able to control the desiredamount of fat being infused into the products of present invention to anexact amount, the present invention entirely eliminates the need forutilizing pools of hot oils or oil substitutes, and maintaining,filtering out, and, at last, in most cases, disposing of the relatedfats used in the production process.

In addition, the present invention also eliminates the need for usingdefatters in the production of relevant low-fat snack food products.

The term “food pieces” is intended to include substantially any foods.Preferably, the food pieces may be provided as cut or shaped food piecesthat can be shaped or reshaped directly from their raw state. Thesefoods include potato, beet, pumpkin, squash, tomato, mushroom, zucchini,carrot, eggplant, apple, pear, bananas, berries, grains, beans, nuts,seeds, rutabaga, plantain, taro, okra, onion, parsnip, yam, sweetpotato, yucca, papaya, mango, pineapple, and the like. These foodsinclude pureed, sliced, diced, milled, grinded, powdered, or pulverizedfruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, beans, seeds and the like,including products such as beans, rice, corn, wheat and the like. Singlyor in combinations, the aforementioned products and ingredients can bemanipulated to form sheets, slices or pieces of food composition throughextrusion or sheeting of a prepared dough or mixture and the like. Thedough or mixture thus formed then can be extruded or cut into anydesired shapes. There are many variations on this basic procedure formanipulating flour or dough into a shape suitable for the presentprocess. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,193 (mixing corn flourwith seasonings); U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,370 (mixing water, rice and riceflour); and U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,950 (mixing corn, sucrose, water, andcorn grits), each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.Generally, the process of the invention can be used with all foods thatwere heretofore fried or with foods that cannot tolerate the fryingprocess. The format of the food can include, for example, sticks,strips, slices, chips, crinkle cut, waffles, flakes, and the like.Flaked products may be made into bars or cereals themselves or used asingredients for granola, granola bars, or add-ins to yogurt, cereals,trail mixes, snack mixes, and the like.

For example, corn tortilla products or bean chips can be preparedinitially by forming a composition from water and corn or bean flour, oralternatively cooked corn or beans, and cooked in conventional tortillaovens. Tortilla or bean strips or rounds can be treated and processedusing the current invention to produce fat free or low fat snackproducts that have a crispy texture and flavor of fried foods withoutfrying in oil or oil substitutes. Generally, the process of the presentinvention can be used with all snack foods that have traditionally beenfried in oil to achieve a crisp texture and traditional fried flavor.

In another embodiment, the sheeted or extruded dough or mixturedescribed herein can be made from a potato mixture or other starchmaterial, alone or in combination with other ingredients, and thenprocessed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention to acrispy finished product without frying.

Preferred food pieces are derived from fruits and/or vegetables thathave a generally solid inner matrix that is exposed when sliced anddemonstrates fracturability when a slice is bent. In a preferredembodiment, the food pieces are derived from potatoes such as thosegenerally used to produce potato chips. In preferred embodiments, thefood pieces comprise a potato substrate. The potato substrate may simplybe farm-grown potatoes (e.g. raw potatoes) of any variety. Suchvarieties include, but are not limited to, Bintje, Russet Burbank, YukonGold, Kennebec, Norchip, Atlantic, Shepody, Sebago, Red Pontiac, RedWarba, Irish Cobbler “BC”, Norgold Russet “BC”, Norland, Atlantic, WhiteRose, Superior, Centennial Russet, Keswick “NB 1”, Green Mountain, LaSoda, Red La Rouge, Red Nordland, Red Bliss, Yellow Finnish, RubyCrescent, and Australian Crescent, Russian Blue, Peruvian Blue,Superior, Katandin, and sweet potato varieties such as Beauregard,Jewel, Nemagold, Centennial, Excel, Regal, Southern Delite (Hernandez,Vardaman. Travis, White Delight, Sumor, Nancy Hall, Picadita, Campeon,Star Leaf/Boniato, Japanese, Chinese, and Okinawan Purple and the like.

In accordance with first and/or second embodiments of the invention, amethod is provided for making a snack food product, comprising,

(a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces;

(b) exposing the food pieces to a solution comprising one or moreenzymes and/or one or more cations to coat the surface thereof;

(c) thereafter blanching the plurality of food pieces for a timesufficient to inactivate any enzymes on the surface of the food pieces,wherein the food pieces have an initial moisture level after theblanching step; and

(d) reducing the initial moisture level to a final moisture level offrom about 0.2 to about 10% by weight. In accordance with additionalembodiments, the final moisture level is preferably from about 0.5 toabout 5.0% by weight.

An intermediate moisture level of about 10 to about 80% by weight,preferably about 10 to about 50% by weight, more preferably about 15 toabout 35% by weight, may be achieved with a number of the embodiments ofthe present invention. Thereafter, the food pieces are exposed to asecond moisture level reduction procedure which reduces the intermediatemoisture level to the final moisture level. The intermediate and thefinal drying steps may further be broken down to sub steps, oralternatively combined into one step.

Suitable enzymes, forms taken by the enzymes, commercial availability,etc. for use in accordance with the present invention are chosen fromone or more of the enzymes listed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,631; U.S. Pat.No. 5,312,631; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,056,544, each of which isincorporated by reference herein. Preferably, the enzyme is other than ahigh-temperature enzyme, such as the high temperature amylase describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,758. However, under certain circumstances, suchan enzyme may be used in accordance with the invention, and the use of ahigh temperature enzyme is not disclaimed herein. Preferred enzymes inaccordance with the present invention include amylase, cellulase,invertase, pectinase and amyloglucosidase, with amylase being the mostpreferred. Preferably, the one or more enzymes is present in thesolution at a concentration of about 0.1 to about 5% by weight.

In accordance with the invention, the enzyme solution may furthercomprise one or more cations, or the cations can be provided in asolution without enzymes. The term “cation-producing compound” isintended to include compounds in which cations are produced in solutionvia dissociation of the cation with an anion, either at ambienttemperatures or with the addition of heat. Suitable cation-producingcompounds in accordance with the present invention include, but are notlimited to, alkali metal salts, such as lithium, sodium and/or potassiumsalts; alkaline earth metal salts, such as magnesium and/or calciumsalts; aluminum compounds; and group VA metal compounds, such asnitrogen, phosphorous and/or bismuth compounds (e.g., ammonium). Morepreferred from this set of compounds are calcium salts, magnesium salts,potassium salts, aluminum compounds and nitrogen compounds, with calciumsalts being the most preferred. Preferably, the one or more cations ispresent in the solution at a concentration of from about 0.1 to about 5%by weight, more preferably from about 0.2 to about 2.5% by weight.

The exposure of the food pieces to the enzyme solution, optionallyincluding cations as described above, or the cation solution withoutenzymes, provides various improved properties to the snack food product.The term “improved property” is defined herein as any property of asnack food product that is altered by the action of the one or moreenzymes and/or cations relative to a snack food product in which thefood pieces are not treated with such a solution. The improved propertymay include, but is not limited to, increased crispiness, reducedstickiness, increased firmness of the raw and/or blanched material,reduced browning from enzymatic and/or Maillard reactions, increasedcolor brightening, increased color retention, increased colorenhancement, reduced color fading, increased stiffness, increased ruggedor smooth appearance, improved flavor, and reduced fat content. Many ofthese terms are defined more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 7,056,544, herebyincorporated by reference. The other terms are defined in accordancewith their customary meaning as would be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art.

It will be appreciated that crispness and/or stiffness can be increasedin a measured way, so that, for instance, if a certain crispness or acertain stiffness is desired to achieve certain processing goals or forproducing a certain finished snack food product, crispness or stiffnesscan be controlled by varying the amount of exposure to the one or moreenzymes and/or cations.

The improved property may be determined by comparison of a snack foodproduct prepared in accordance with the methods of the presentinvention, versus a snack food product prepared in accordance with priorart methods. Techniques for determining such improved propertiesachieved by use of the present methods are described herein.Organoleptic qualities may be evaluated using procedures wellestablished in the food industry, and may include, for example, the useof a trained panel of sensory evaluators. Other methods could includetexture analysis and comparisons such as those disclosed herein below.

Preferably, the food pieces are exposed to the enzyme solution (with orwithout cations), or the cation solution, for a time of about 0.5 toabout 45 minutes, more preferably about 0.5 to about 15 minutes, mostpreferably about 0.5 to about 5 minutes.

In alternative embodiments, other nutrients including vitamins andminerals, such as Vitamin A, Vitamin, B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C,Vitamin D, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folic Acid, Phosphorous,Magnesium, Copper, Calcium, Zinc, Iron and the like can be added to theproducts of present invention either by infusing such vitamins andminerals into the food pieces in the enzyme treatment, cation treatmentand/or blanching process, or in an additional step or by spraying acompound including any desired vitamins and/or minerals over the foodpieces prior to or after cooking. This procedure results in a productthat is nutritionally fortified and provides an opportunity to makesnack food products that are healthier. In alternate embodiments, flavorenhancers and seasoning blends such as salt (NaCl), sugar, herbextracts, fruit extracts, vegetable extracts and the like or acombination thereof can be infused into the snack food product bysteeping or soaking the cut food pieces with the respective salt, sugar,herbs, fruits, vegetables and the like, thereby incorporating theseflavoring components into the food pieces either in the blanch waterand/or by having a separate step following or prior to the blanchingstep in which flavors are fused into the cut food pieces. Alternately,cut food pieces may be soaked in concentrated flavor extracts that areeither aqueous or otherwise. In yet another embodiment, the snack foodproducts of the present invention may be coated with chocolate, caramel,syrups, and coatings made from fruits or vegetables or any other similarcovering, thereby creating other novel gourmet snacks that are free of,or alternatively low or high in fat.

If preferred, any predetermined amount of digestible and/or syntheticfat, such as an oil or oil substitute, may be added to and/or blendedand mixed with the dough or mixture prior to cooking or alternativelycan be applied in any process such as spraying on the food pieces, priorto, during, or after the pre-cooking step. Preferably, the oil is acooking oil not containing fatty acids such as canola, sunflower orsafflower oils, which may be applied to the vegetable pieces by eitherspraying the oil onto the food pieces or by flash soaking the foodpieces in oil or by any other feasible method, such as applying to theblanch water or spraying onto a conveyer belt or a tray before and/orafter food pieces are placed onto such tray or belt. In alternateembodiments where oil is used, although any food grade oil or oilsubstitute can be used, the preferred oils will be unrefined oils andthose having a low smoke point, preferably extra virgin olive oil, hempseed oil, walnut oil, sesame oil, flaxseed oil, coconut oil, unrefinedcanola oil, semi-refined canola oil, unrefined peanut oil, saffloweroil, sunflower oil, high-oleic sunflower oil, unrefined corn oil, soyoil, unrefined soy oil, unrefined sesame oil, flavor infused oils,emulsified vegetable shortening, and the like, synthetic oils such asOLESTRA™ and the like. Alternative oils that offer health benefits, suchas SMART BALANCE™, ENOVA™ and the like, may be used either alone or incombination with other natural or synthetic oils such as those discussedabove.

Food Piece Preparation.

The food pieces are cut, formed or shaped from one or a combination offood materials. For raw vegetables or raw plant materials, the foodpieces are preferably cleaned, optionally peeled, and cut. Preferredvegetables such as potatoes, vegetables, fruit, or other food productsare preferably cut into slices, sticks or strips of a desirable size andshape for chips, sticks, shoestrings, wavy cut chips, crinkle cut chips,waffle cut chips, straight cut chips and sticks and the like. Aftercutting, forming or shaping, the prepared food pieces are preferablycontacted with an aqueous solution, such as a water, to remove freestarch. Removing the free starch is best for optimizing use and reducingthe amount of enzyme, plus free starch can leave a powdery appearanceafter drying the chip.

Enzyme and/or Cation Treatment:

The prepared food pieces may be exposed to an enzyme solution or acation solution, more preferably an enzyme and cation solution. Whenenzyme treatment is performed, the enzymes are preferably used inamounts that contribute to one or more of the improved properties asdefined herein and/or provide at least one of the following advantages:increasing the crispness, reducing the stickiness and improving color offinished products. Without being bound by theory, it is believed thatthe optional cations increase the activity of the enzymes, reducing timein the solution, and also make the cut food pieces more firm or rigid sothey are easier to process. Further, cations may also decrease enzymaticbrowning as well as contribute to the snack food product's nutritionalprofile.

The appropriate exposure to a given enzyme or cation for improving aspecific property or properties of a snack food product will depend onthe enzyme or cation in question. The skilled person may determine asuitable enzyme or cation exposure on the basis of methods known in theart. Where both enzyme and cation treatments are performed, thetreatments are preferably carried out simultaneously using a singlesolution, although the treatments may also be performed separately usingan enzyme solution followed by a cation solution, or a cation solutionfollowed by an enzyme solution. Salts and/or flavoring ingredients canalso be added to any of the solutions.

The enzymes to be used in the methods of the present invention may be inany form suitable for the use in question, e.g., in the form of a drypowder, agglomerated powder, or granulate, in particular a non-dustinggranulate, a liquid, in particular a stabilized liquid, or a protectedenzyme. Granulates and agglomerated powders may be prepared byconventional methods, e.g., by spraying the enzyme(s) onto a carrier ina fluid-bed granulator. The carrier may consist of particulate coreshaving a suitable particle size. The carrier may be soluble orinsoluble, e.g., a salt (such as NaCl or sodium sulfate), a sugar (suchas sucrose or lactose), a sugar alcohol (such as sorbitol), starch,rice, corn grits, or soy. The enzymes may be contained in slow-releaseformulations. Methods for preparing slow-release formulations are wellknown in the art. Liquid enzyme preparations may, for instance, bestabilized by adding nutritionally acceptable stabilizers such as asugar, a sugar alcohol or another polyol, and/or lactic acid or anotherorganic acid according to established methods.

In preferred embodiments the enzyme and/or cation treatment is appliedprior to blanching. In alternative embodiments, the enzyme and/or cationtreatment is applied concurrently during the blanching, or as anadditional treatment after blanching. In the case of certain shaped foodpieces such as sheeted products that are made from a combination of foodmaterials or a dough, the enzyme and/or cation treatment may be appliedafter the shaped food pieces have been through the initial baking stepthat is customary in production of such products.

Blanching.

Several embodiments of the present invention include a step whereby thefood pieces are blanched. Preferably, the food pieces are blanched for atime period sufficient to achieve any of the following: 1) to inactivateany enzymes that naturally occur on the surface of the pieces and/or toinactivate any enzymes added during the enzyme treatment step describedabove; 2) to gelatinize at least a portion of the naturally occurringstarches; 3) to remove excess free sugars so as to reduce Maillardbrowning and potential for formation of acrylamides; and 4) to improvetexture and flavor. Typically, the food pieces are preferably blanchedby immersion in an aqueous solution, preferably containing from about0.5% to about 8% by weight, more preferably from about 2% to about 5% byweight, most preferably about 3% by weight of one or more cations, asdefined above. In preferred embodiments, the cations are selected fromNaCl, KCl, MgCl₂ and CaCl₂. The blanching may be conducted at atemperature of preferably from about 60° C. to about 120° C., morepreferably from about 70° C. to about 100° C. In alternate embodiments,the blanching may be conducted by exposure to steam (at ambient orhigher pressures), preferably for about 15 seconds to about 10 minutes,more preferably for about 40 seconds to about 3 minutes, depending uponthe amount of blanching desired. Alternatively, any known method ofblanching such as microwave, Ohmic heating, super heat steam, infraredheating and the like can be used in accordance with the presentinvention.

If necessary, the food pieces are then preferably drained or conveyedunder an air curtain to remove excess water. In alternate embodiments,any known method of removing excess surface water may be employed. Saltcan be added before, during or after blanching. Any salts that aresuitable for use in foods may be used, but NaCl, KCl, MgCl₂, CaCl₂ andthe like are preferred.

The blanching step may not be applicable and/or necessary in cases ofcertain shaped food pieces such as sheeted products that are made from acombination of food materials or a dough.

Reducing Moisture Level.

The moisture in the food pieces is preferably reduced to a finalmoisture level of about 0.5 to about 10% by weight, preferably about 0.5to about 5% by weight. This moisture reduction may be achieved in anumber of different ways.

In one embodiment of the invention, the moisture reduction step includescooking the food pieces in one or more dryers or ovens independentlyselected from the group consisting of forced air convection ovens,fluidized bed dryers/ovens, vibrating fluidized bed dryers/ovens,impingement dryers/ovens, pulsed fluidized bed dryers/ovens (e.g., AeroPulse dryers), rotary dryers/ovens, rotary drum dryers/ovens, rotaryspiral drum dryers/ovens, tray ovens, stationary dryers/ovens, spiralroasters/dryers (such as, for example, FMC Spiral Roto-LouvreRoaster/Dryers), microwave dryers/ovens, infrared dryers/ovens, superheat airless driers, vacuum driers, vacuum belt dryers and ohmic dryers,or any similar drying/cooking apparatus.

In one embodiment, the food pieces are cooked for about 0.5 to about 40minutes at temperature of from about 160° F. to about 400° F., morepreferably from about 275° F. to about 325° F.

In another embodiment of the invention, the moisture reduction comprisesbringing the food pieces to a first temperature for a first time period,and thereafter bringing the food pieces to a second temperature for asecond time period. Preferably, bringing the food pieces to the firsttemperature for the first time period, such as but not limited to atemperature of about 160° F. to about 400° F., preferably between about275° F. to about 375° F. for a time of about 0.5 to about 40 minutes,reduces the initial moisture level to an intermediate moisture level ofabout 10 to about 80% by weight, and bringing the food pieces to thesecond temperature for the second time period, such as but not limitedto a temperature of about 160° F. to about 375° F., preferably betweenabout 275° F. and about 350° F., and more preferably between about 300°F. to about 325° F. for a time of about 4 to about 35 minutes,preferably about 5 to about 12 minutes and more preferably about 6 toabout 11 minutes, reduces the intermediate moisture level to the finalmoisture level of about 0.5 to about 10%. In preferred embodiments, thesecond temperature is lower than the first temperature.

In other preferred embodiments, the first stage of the process comprisesdrying the food pieces in a rotary dryer, rotary drum dryer, rotaryspiral drum dryer, fluidized bed dryer/oven or vibrating fluidized beddryer/oven to remove up to about 30% by weight, preferably up to about50% by weight, and most preferably up to about 90% by weight of theinitial moisture, and thereafter the second stage reduces the moisturelevel to the final moisture level of about 0.5 to about 10%. Preferably,the drying step is conducted a temperature of about 160° F. to about400° F., more preferably from about 275° F. to about 350° F., and evenmore preferably from about 300° F. to about 325° F., for a time of about2 to about 40 minutes, more preferably from about 5 to about 25 minutes,and even more preferably from about 6 minutes to about 18 minutes.

In still other preferred embodiments, the reduction of the moisturelevel to the final moisture level of about 0.5 to about 10% may beaccomplished solely using a rotary dryer, rotary drum dryer, rotaryspiral drum dryer, fluidized bed dryer/oven or vibrating fluidized beddryer/oven, in one or more drying steps. No additional cooking procedureis utilized in this embodiment. Generally the same temperature and timeconditions indicated above may be used in such an embodiment, over oneor more stages.

Another embodiment of the present invention is drying/cooking with theuse of spiral roasters/dryers. The drying principles and productbehavior for this method closely mirror rotary ovens and rotary drumdrying, except the internal spiral allows for precise control of dryingtime within the vessel. Typically, in spiral roaster/dryers the dryingair entry into the product bed between the spiral flights is through theperforated plate or screen wrapped around the flights. Precise controlof drying time within the vessel combined with the use of this methodwill result in a higher product quality, process effectiveness and addedprocess efficiencies and output levels not experienced or expectedpreviously.

During any of the stages, the food pieces may be exposed to air at anair speed of from about 200 to about 15,000 feet per minute. Accordingto additional, alternative embodiments of the present invention, evenlower air velocities may be used depending on the food pieces beingprepared and/or the equipment being used. The process is furthercontrolled by selectively increasing and/or decreasing the air speed tocontrol the exposure of the product to temperature and airflow, therebyoptimizing the quality of the finished product. Sequential adjustmentsto temperature and airflow allow for a controlled drying process thatbeneficially maintains the product temperature below temperatures thatcause browning and carmelization until the product reaches a targetmoisture content. Manipulation of the different zones of temperature andair velocity allow for optimization of the texture, color, and flavor,as well as economical efficiency of the process.

Other equipment, such as, for example, any similar type rotary dryer orrotary drum dryer, “flash dryers”, airless or superheated steam dryerand the like such as, for example, those available from Applied ChemicalTechnologies, Carrier Vibrating, Inc., The Dupps Company and the like,may be used in place of the dryers. Alternatively, microwave, infrared,impingement, vibrating impingement, tray oven, convection oven,stationary oven, fluidized bed or vibrating fluidized bed drying, vacuumdrying, vacuum belt drying or the like can be employed in the process ofpartially or completely dehydrating the cut food pieces, each resultingin a different degree of efficiency and level of output. The use of asteam blancher, such as those available from the Lyco Company, alone orin combination with any of the foregoing equipments, provide numerousadditional alternatives for either a partial or complete dehydratingprocess. When applicable, any versions of the foregoing equipmentdescribed herein in relation to the various embodiments of the presentinvention, such as, for instances, batch or continuous processingequipment, static or vibrating equipment designs and the like may beemployed.

Moisture sensing equipment such as those available from DryingTechnologies, Inc. (i.e., DTI 500, DTI 5000) and the like can beinstalled inside the rotary dryer or the like to ensure proper dryingconditions on an automated basis.

In preferred embodiments, the partially dried food pieces are thentransferred to an impingement oven, a fluidized bed dryer/oven, avibrating fluidized bed dryer/oven, a vacuum belt dryer/oven or anyother similar equipment via a conveyor belt or any other conveyingdevice or method. After moisture reduction, the resultant snack foodproducts may then be cooled either at ambient or reduced temperatures,and optionally seasoned and/or coated as desired and packaged fordistribution and consumption.

Optional seasoning blends can be applied to products preferably usingadhesives such as gums, starches, proteins, that can be used to create asticky surface on the products for adherence of the seasoning blends asis generally known within the food industry.

To obtain a blistered effect on the product surface similar to thetypical appearance observed when foods are fried, the food pieces arepreferably cooked at a temperature of at least 285° after about halfwaythrough the moisture removal. Next, the food pieces are cooked at atemperature of about 310° F. with a high velocity air flow (e.g., an airspeed of about 500 to about 15,000 feet per minute) to achieve a finalmoisture content of about 2 to about 5%. The final drying when usingcertain types of equipment such as a vacuum dryer may take place attemperatures below those indicated above.

The process efficiency can be further improved by, after the moisturereduction is complete, running the food pieces through an “Equilibrator”system, that takes the hot product, exhausts the air from it, pullingoff the heat thereby cooling it as the final moisture is removed.

The invention also contemplates reducing the moisture level down to theintermediate moisture level by any of the methods described herein,cooling and storing the moist product at ambient, refrigeration orfreezer conditions, then subsequently frying, drying or baking theproduct to achieve the final moisture level. Alternatively, the fryingstep may immediately follow the steps of reducing the moisture leveldown to the intermediate moisture level.

In addition, the invention contemplates flash frying or baking any ofthe snack food products prepared in accordance with the invention,either in a commercial or retail setting or at home.

The present invention also includes snack food products made by any ofthe methods described herein.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be understoodupon consideration of the following illustrative and comparativeexamples.

Example 1 Potato Chips

Approximately 2,333 grams of Yukon Gold variety potatoes were washed,then sliced to an average slice thickness of 1.90 mm, yieldingapproximately 2288 grams of sliced potatoes. The sliced potatoes wererinsed for 15 seconds in cold water (18° C./65° F.) and drained. Thedrained potato slices were placed in a solution of 0.5% amylase(American Labs, Inc. Fungal Amylase-100,000 SKB/gram Lot A1100517-04)and 1% aqueous Calcium Chloride (32% aqueous solution Calcium Chloridefrom DSM Food Specialties) and held for 3 minutes before draining. Afterdraining, the treated potato slices were blanched in 93° C. (200 degreesF.) water containing 3% salt (NaCl) (Cargill Top Flow Salt) for 1minute. Blanched potato slices were dipped into cold water for about 15seconds to halt cooking, then drained. The potato slices were thenplaced directly on a conveyor belt of an impingement oven (Impinger® I,Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne,Ind.) set at 140° C./285° F. and belt time of 13.25 minutes. Afterdrying, the potato chips were allowed to cool completely, then placed inmoisture proof bags and sealed. The total yield was 467 grams of potatochips. The resulting chips were observed visually and determined to havea light golden color, a good potato chip flavor and a crisp lighttexture.

Samples were analyzed for moisture using the convection oven method; bymeasuring the weight lost as a result of heating a ground sample (4grams, run in triplicate) in a convection oven under controlledconditions (100° C. for 24 hours). The percent of weight lost wasreported as the percent of moisture in the sample. In this example, thefinal moisture content was 4.42%.

Samples were analyzed for fat using the chloroform extraction method ofF. I. Shahii (see reference provided below) with minor variations:

Prior to extraction, the sample is ground in a blender.

1. Prepare a 2:1 solution of chloroform: methanol.2. Measure 10 g of ground sample into a flask; add 50 mls of 2:1chloroform/methanol solution.3. Stir covered for 1 hour.4. Pour into a clean flask through filter paper.5. Rinse the initial flask and remaining solids into the new flask witha small amount of the 2:1 solution of chloroform: methanol.6. Add 30-35 mls of distilled water and mix.7. Let sit at 4° C. overnight.8. Remove settled top layer containing water and methanol with a wateraspirator and glass pipette.9. Weigh a new round bottom flask and record.10. Pour the remaining solution into the new flask through a filter,pass the remaining layer of chloroform (and fat) over sodium sulfate toremove any remaining water. Wash all of the fat into the flask usingadditional chloroform.11. Using a rotovap at 50° C./80 rpm, remove (by evaporation) theremaining chloroform.12. Place flask in the chemical fume hood overnight to completelyevaporate any remaining chloroform.13. Weigh flask after drying is complete, record and determine theamount of fat.

The results indicated that the samples contained an average of about0.30% fat. The average final thickness of the sample chips after dryingwas determined to be 1.38 mm by measuring thickness of 10 chips usingdigital calipers.

The “chloroform method” is based upon the method disclosed by F. I.Shahii, “Extraction and Measurement of Total Lipids”, Current Protocolsin Food Analytical Chemistry, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, pp D1.1.4.

The “moisture method” is based upon the method disclosed by R. P. Ruis,“Gravimetric Determination of Water by Drying and Weighing: MeasuringMoisture using a Convection Oven”, Current Protocols in Food AnalyticalChemistry, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, pp A1.1.1.

The texture of the potato chips was evaluated using a TA.XT2 TextureAnalyzer using a 0.25″ diameter ball probe and a chip/cracker fixture.Individual chips were rested over the 18 mm diameter opening on theplate's cylindrical opening, and were punctured with the ball probe. Theball probe traveled at 4.0 mm/s until a force of 10 grams was detected;then the ball probe was punctured through the chips at a speed of 1.0mm/second. The probe was withdrawn at 10.0 mm/second. A sampling of 25chips was used for each test. Analysis of the test chips resulted in anaverage peak force of 379 grams, which is statistically similar toLAY'S® Light Chips (OLESTRA™) 825.59 grams of force and Low Fat KETTLEKRISPS™ at 416.06 grams of force. LAY′S® Classic was slightly less at254.23 grams of force.

Test 1: Comparison of Chip Attributes: Samples of Potato Chips of thePresent Invention prepared by the process described in Example 1compared with popular chips currently in the market.

TABLE 1 Comparison of Chip Attributes. Average Texture Ratio of % FatPercent Percent Thickness Analysis Moisture to Sample g/oz. Fat Moisture(mm) Grams of force % Fat Test Product   0.084 0.30%* 4.42% 1.38 379.8714.73 LAYS ® 10**  35.71%** 3.80% 1.44 254.23 0.11 Classic LAYS ® Light0**    0%** 3.45% 1.40 325.59 0 (Contains Olestra ™) Lightly Salted 8**28.57%** 4.26% 1.30 583.87 0.15 Kettle Chips Low Fat Kettle   1.5**5.36%  4.99% 1.55 416.06 0.93 Krisps Terra Yukon 6** 21.42%** 6.27% 2.151090.40 0.29 Gold ™ *Fat analysis by Chloroform Extraction Method**Information from Nutritional Label

Test 2: Density measurement of potato chips using the multipycnometer.The multipycnometer (Quantachrome model MVP-D160-E) employs thetechnique of fluid displacement to determine volume. The fluid used inthe instrument is helium. Potato chip volume was determined by measuringthe pressure difference when a known quantity of helium is allowed toflow from a known reference volume into the sample cell containing thechips. Samples were weighed before measuring the volume. Each chip wasbroken into 2-4 pieces to allow them to fit into the measuring cell.Densities were calculated using the formula:

$\frac{W}{V_{C} - \left\{ {V_{R}^{*}\left\lbrack {\left( {P_{1}/P_{2}} \right) - 1} \right\rbrack} \right\}}$

W=weight of potato chips (g)V_(c)=Cell volume (cm³)*V_(R)=Reference volume (cm³)*P₁=pressure reading of the referenceP₂=pressure reading of the cell *V_(C) and V_(R) were established duringinstrument calibration.

TABLE 2 Pycnometer Density Calculations of Potato Chips. SampleReplicates Density g/(cm³) Average g/(cm³) Test Product 1 1.345 1.351(regular) 2 1.359 3 1.350 Test Product 1 1.281 1.291 (wavy) 2 1.315 31.278 LAY'S ® Classic 1 1.178 1.191 2 1.197 3 1.197 Low Fat Kettle 11.373 1.355 Krisps 2 1.327 3 1.365 Ruffles ® 1 1.156 1.171 2 1.181 31.175

Example 2 Regular Fat-Free Potato Sticks

Russet Burbank Potatoes were peeled and cut Julienne style lengthwise toachieve approximately 2 mm height and width. After slicing 540 grams ofthese, the raw potato sticks were rinsed for under 65° F. running waterfor 15 seconds. Then the rinsed sticks were held in a solutioncontaining 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 grams bacterial amylase(Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5 grams calciumchloride solution (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated potato sticks weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 3% Cargill SeaSalt (3000 g cold water, plus 90 g salt) for 1 minute 30 seconds beforedraining Blanched potato sticks were placed directly on perforatedaluminum tray and put into an impingment oven (Impinger® I, Model No.1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at140° C./285° F. Oven belt speed was set at 24 minutes. Every 5 minutes,the tray was shaken to stir the potato sticks to allow for even drying.The process yielded approximately 103 grams of fat-free potato sticks,which were then cooled and packaged. The potato sticks were evaluated bytrained sensory professionals and were noted to have a pleasant cookedpotato flavor, golden color, and light crisp texture.

Example 3 Larger Size, Puffed Potato Strips

Yukon Gold potatoes were peeled and cut slices approximately 2 mm thick.These slices were then cut into strips approximately 6 mm wide.Approximately 750 grams of these raw potato strips were rinsed under 65°F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed strips were held in asolution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 grams bacterialamylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5 gramscalcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated potato strips weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 3% Cargill SeaSalt (3000 g water, plus 90 g salt) for 1 minute 30 seconds beforedraining. The blanched potato strips were placed directly on perforatedaluminum tray and put into an impingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No.1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at135° C./275° F. Oven belt speed was set at 27 minutes. Every 5 minutes,the tray was shaken to stir the potato strips to allow for even drying.The process yielded approximately 129 grams of fat-free potato strips,with a light texture, approximately 90% of the strips puffed into almostcylindrical shape, giving them the appearance of crispy French fries.The fat-free potato strips were judged by trained sensory professionalsto have a very rich buttery flavor, crisp light texture and appetizingappearance.

Example 4 Carrot Chips

Carrots were peeled and cut into slices approximately 2 mm thick.Approximately 500 grams of these carrot slices were rinsed under 65° F.running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed carrot slices were held ina solution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 gramsbacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5grams calcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated carrot slices weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill SeaSalt (2000 g water, plus 40 g. salt) for 1 minute 15 seconds beforedraining. The blanched carrot slices were placed directly on belt of animpingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food ServiceProducts, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Oven belt speedwas set at 15 minutes. The process yielded approximately 120 grams offat-free carrot chips, with a light texture, bright orange color andpleasant sweet carrot flavor.

Example 5 Fat-Free Beet Chips

Fresh red beets were peeled and cut into slices approximately 1.6 mmthick. Approximately 590 grams of these beet slices were rinsed under65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed beet slices wereheld in a solution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 gramsbacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5grams calcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated beet slices were drained,then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill Sea Salt(2000 g water, plus 40 g salt) for 1 minute 15 seconds before draining.The blanched beet slices were placed directly on belt of an impingementoven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products,Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Oven belt speed was setat 15 minutes. The process yielded approximately 130 grams of fat-freebeet chips, with a light, crisp texture, dark beet red color andpleasant beet flavor.

Example 6 Fat-Free Parsnip Chips

Fresh parsnip roots were peeled and cut into slices approximately 1.6 mmthick. Approximately 500 grams of these parsnip slices were rinsed under65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed parsnip slices wereheld in a solution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 gramsbacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5grams calcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated parsnip slices weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill SeaSalt (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt) for 1 minute 15 seconds beforedraining Blanched parsnip slices were placed directly on belt of animpingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food ServiceProducts, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Oven belt speedwas set at 13 minutes. The process yielded approximately 120 grams offat-free parsnip chips, with a light, crisp texture, creamy tan colorand pleasant parsnip flavor.

Example 7 Fat-Free Yucca Root (Maniac or Cassaya) Chips

Fresh yucca roots were peeled and cut into slices approximately 1.6 mmthick. Approximately 1000 grams of these yucca root slices were rinsedunder 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed yucca rootslices were held in a solution containing 750 grams water (43° C./110°F.), 7.5 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, AmericanLaboratories, Inc.), 7.5 grams calcium chloride (32% solution CalciumChloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treatedyucca root slices were drained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. watercontaining 2% Cargill Sea Salt (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt) for 1minute 15 seconds before draining Blanched yucca root slices were placedin apple juice for 2 minutes, then drained and placed directly on beltof an impingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln FoodService Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Ovenbelt speed was set at 14 minutes. The process yielded approximately 200grams of fat-free yucca root chips, with a light, crisp texture, verywhite in color and pleasant slightly sweet flavor.

Example 8 Fat-Free Pineapple Chips

Fresh pineapple were cored, the cored portion was then cut into slicesapproximately 1.6 mm thick. Approximately 500 grams of these pineapplecore slices were rinsed under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Thenthe rinsed pineapple core slices were held in a solution containing 500grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No.ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5 grams calcium chloride (32%solution Calcium

Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treatedpineapple slices were drained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. watercontaining 2% Cargill Sea Salt (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt) for 1minute 15 seconds before draining. The blanched pineapple slices wereplaced directly on belt of an impingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No.1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at140° C./285° F. Oven belt speed was set at 22 minutes. The processyielded approximately 128 grams of fat-free pineapple chips, with alight, crisp texture, bright yellow color and pleasant cooked pineappleflavor

Example 9 Fat-Free Apple Chips

Fresh Fuji apples were washed then cut into slices approximately 2.0 mmthick. Approximately 900 grams of these apple slices were rinsed under65° F. running water for 15 seconds, then placed in a 1% citric acidsolution to prevent enzymatic browning. Then apple slices were held in asolution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 grams bacterialamylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5 gramscalcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated apple slices weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill SeaSalt, 2% calcium chloride solution (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt and 40g calcium chloride solution) for 1 minute 15 seconds before draining.The blanched apple slices were placed directly on belt of an impingementoven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products,Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 140° C./285° F. Oven belt speed was setat 14 minutes. The process yielded approximately 220 grams of fat-freeapple chips, with a light, crisp texture, light tan color and pleasantcooked apple flavor.

Example 10 Fat-Free Pear Chips

Fresh d'Anjou pears were washed then cut into slices approximately 2.0mm thick. Approximately 850 grams of these pear slices were rinsed under65° F. running water for 15 seconds, then placed in a 1% citric acidsolution to prevent enzymatic browning. Then pear slices were held in asolution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 grams bacterialamylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5 gramscalcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated pear slices were drained,then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2%

Cargill Sea Salt, 2% calcium chloride solution (2000 g water, plus 40 gsalt and 40 g calcium chloride solution) for 1 minute 15 seconds beforedraining. The blanched pear slices were placed directly on belt of animpingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food ServiceProducts, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 140° C./285° F. Oven belt speedwas set at 15 minutes. The process yielded approximately 200 grams offat-free pear chips, with a light, crisp texture, light tan color andpleasant cooked pear flavor.

Example 11 Fat-Free Purple Sweet Potato Chips

Purple Sweet Potatoes were peeled and sliced into slices approximately1.8 mm thick. After slicing, 1000 grams of these raw sweet potato sliceswere rinsed under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsedslices were blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill SeaSalt (2000 g cold water, plus 40 g salt) for 1 minute 30 seconds beforedraining.

Blanched potato slices were placed directly on chain belt of impingementoven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products,Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 140° C./285° F. Oven belt speed was setat 14 minutes. The process yielded approximately 225 grams of fat-freesweet potato chips, which were cooled and packaged. The purple sweetpotato slices were evaluated by trained sensory professionals and werenoted to have a very pleasant sweet flavor, novel dark purple color, andlight crisp texture.

Example 12 Fat-Free Radish Chips

Fresh red table radishes were cut into slices approximately 1.75 mmthick. Approximately 500 grams of these radish slices were rinsed under65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed radish slices wereheld in a solution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 gramsbacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5grams calcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated radish slices weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill SeaSalt (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt) for 45 seconds before drainingBlanched radish slices were placed directly on belt of an impingementoven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products,Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Oven belt speed was setat 11.5 minutes. The process yielded approximately 109 grams of fat-freeradish chips, with a light, crisp texture, creamy tan color andastringent radish flavor.

Example 13 Fat-Free Taro Chips

Fresh taro roots were peeled and cut into slices approximately 1.6 mmthick. Approximately 1000 grams of these taro slices were rinsed under65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed taro slices wereheld in a solution containing 750 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 7.5grams bacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories,Inc.), 5 grams calcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSMFood Specialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated taro slices weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill SeaSalt (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt) for 1 minute before drainingBlanched taro slices were placed directly on belt of an impingement oven(Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc.,Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Oven belt speed was set at 12minutes. The process yielded approximately 255 grams of fat-free tarochips, with a light, crisp texture, creamy tan color retaining thenatural pink/red specks inherent in the taro root. Flavor was very mild,slightly sweet, and pleasant.

Example 14 Fat-Free Pumpkin Chips

A small fresh pumpkin (approximately 10 inches in diameter) was cut inquarters, seeds were removed, then the flesh was cut into slicesapproximately 1.8 mm thick. Approximately 1000 grams of these rawpumpkin slices were rinsed under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds.

Then the rinsed pumpkin slices were held in a solution containing 750grams water (43° C./110° F.), 7.5 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No.ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5 grams calcium chloride (32%solution Calcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. Theenzyme treated pumpkin slices were drained, then blanched in 87° C./190°F. water containing 2% Cargill Sea Salt (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt)for 30 seconds before draining. The blanched pumpkin slices were placeddirectly on belt of an impingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135°C./275° F. Oven belt speed was set at 11 minutes. The process yieldedapproximately 246 grams of fat-free pumpkin chips, with a light, crisptexture, orange/tan color and a very mild and pleasant flavor.

Example 15 Fat-Free Rutabaga Chips

Fresh rutabagas peeled and were cut into slices approximately 1.6 mmthick. Approximately 500 grams of these rutabaga slices were rinsedunder 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed rutabagaslices were held in a solution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110°F.), 5 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, AmericanLaboratories, Inc., Omaha, Nebr.), 5 grams calcium chloride (32%solution Calcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. Theenzyme treated rutabaga slices were drained, then blanched in 87°C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill Sea Salt (2000 g water, plus 40 gsalt) for 1 minute 10 seconds before draining. The blanched rutabagaslices were placed directly on belt of an impingement oven (Impinger® I,Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne,Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Oven belt speed was set at 12.5 minutes.The process yielded approximately 134 grams of fat-free rutabaga chips,with a light, crisp texture, bright tan color and typical cookedrutabaga flavor.

Example 18 Fat-Free Zucchini Chips

Several small fresh zucchini (approximately 2.5 inches in diameter and 8inches in length were peeled, the center core (approximately 0.5 inchdiameter) was removed, then the prepared zucchini were cut into slicesapproximately 2.0 mm thick using a kitchen mandolin with a serratedblade. Approximately 1000 grams of these raw zucchini slices were rinsedunder 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed slices wereheld in a solution containing 750 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 15 gramsdried enzyme preparation (Lot No. SI9700, Multizyme II, EnzymeDevelopment Corp. New York, N.Y.), 10 grams calcium chloride (32%solution Calcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. Theenzyme treated zucchini slices were drained, then blanched in 87°C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill Sea Salt (2000 g water, plus 40 gsalt) for 45 seconds before draining. The blanched zucchini slices wereplaced directly on belt of an impingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No.1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at135° C./275° F. Oven belt speed was set at 18 minutes. The processyielded approximately 96 grams of fat-free zucchini chips, with a light,crisp texture, light yellow/tan color with a very mild and pleasantflavor.

Example 17 Fat-Free Mushrooms Chips

Several small fresh button mushrooms (approximately 2.5-3 inches capdiameter) were cut into slices approximately 2.4 mm thick using akitchen mandolin. Approximately 500 grams of these raw mushroom sliceswere rinsed under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds.

Then the rinsed slices were held in a solution containing 750 gramswater (43° C./110° F.), 15 grams dried enzyme preparation (Lot No.SI9700, Multizyme II, Enzyme Development Corp. New York, N.Y.), 10 gramscalcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated mushroom slices weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill SeaSalt (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt) for 45 seconds before drainingBlanched mushroom slices were placed a screen sheet and placed in animpingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food ServiceProducts, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Oven belt speedwas set at 22 minutes. The process yielded approximately 64 grams offat-free mushroom chips, with a very light texture, tan color very mildand pleasant pungent cooked mushroom flavor.

Example 18 Fat Free Green Bean Sticks

Fresh green beans (Blue Lake Variety) were rinsed, the ends weretrimmed, then approximately 1000 grams of these raw green beans wererinsed under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Next the rinsed beanpods were held in a solution containing 750 grams water (43° C./110°F.), 15 grams dried enzyme preparation (Lot No. SI9700, Multizyme II,Enzyme Development Corp. New York, N.Y.), 10 grams calcium chloride (32%solution Calcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. Theenzyme treated bean pods were drained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F.water containing 2% Cargill Sea Salt (2000 g water, plus 40 g salt) for4 minutes before draining. The blanched green bean pods were placed ascreen sheet on belt of an impingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 135°C./275° F. Oven belt speed was set at 28 minutes. The process yieldedapproximately 172 grams of fat-free green bean snack sticks, with alight, crisp texture, green and brown in color with a very mild andpleasant flavor.

Example 19 Regular Fat Free Potato Chips, Pre-Processed Slices HeldUnder Refrigerated Conditions for 1 Week, Then Dried/Cooked

Atlantic Variety chipping potatoes were peeled and sliced using a DitoDean vegetable slicer with a C2 blade, to achieve a slice thickness ofapproximately 1.60 mm. After slicing, 1000 grams of these raw potatoslices were rinsed for under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds.

Then the rinsed slices were held in a solution containing 1000 gramswater (43° C./110° F.), 10 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04,American Laboratories, Inc.) and 10 grams calcium chloride solution (32%solution Calcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. Theenzyme treated potato slices were drained, then blanched in 87° C./190°F. water containing 2% Cargill Sea

Salt (3000 g cold water, plus 60 g. salt) for 1 minute before draining.The blanched potato slices were cooled in ice water, then drained andstored in plastic bags in a cooler at 3° C./38° F. for 7 days. Sampleswere removed from the cooler, placed in on a metal screen in a singlelayer and processed in an industrial Air Force® impingement oven (Heatand Control Company, Hayward, Calif. 94545) set at 176° C./350° F. for3.5 minutes. The partially dried potato slices were then piled togetherto create a bed depth of 1 inch, then processed through a second AirForce® impingement oven (Heat and Control Company, Hayward, Calif.94545) for an additional 3.5 minutes at 148° C./300° F. The processyielded approximately 200 grams of fat-free potato chips, which werecooled and packaged. The potato chips were evaluated by trained sensoryprofessionals and were noted to have a pleasant cooked potato flavor,golden color, and light crisp texture. The seven day holding time forthe pre-processed slices did not affect the texture or flavor of thefinished product.

Example 20 Novel Sweet Potato Cereal-Regular Sweet Potato Flakes

Novel Sweet Potato Cereal-Regular Sweet Potatoes were peeled and cutlengthwise into strips approximately 0.75-1 inch thick, then the stripswere sliced across into small flakes approximately 2 mm thick. Afterslicing, approximately 1000 grams of these raw sweet potato flakes wererinsed under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed flakeswere blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 1% Cargill Sea Salt and0.5% calcium chloride solution (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSMFood Specialties) (5000 g cold water, plus 50 g. salt, 25 grams calciumchloride) for 1 minute before draining. The blanched sweet potato flakeswere placed directly on an aluminum screen, and put into an impingementoven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products,Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 140° C./285° F. Oven belt speed was setat 17 minutes. Every 5 minutes, the screen was shaken to stir the potatoflakes to allow for even drying. The process yielded approximately 284grams of fat-free sweet potato flakes, which were cooled and packaged.The sweet potato flakes were evaluated by trained sensory professionalsand were noted to have a pleasant sweet nutty flavor, golden browncolor, and light crisp texture when eaten with milk in a bowl like agrain based cereal. The product retained its crisp texture for a bowllife of 7-8 minutes.

Example 21 Regular Fat-Free Potato Chips Made by Initial Dry withInfrared Heater, then Finish Dry in Impingement

Atlantic Variety chipping potatoes were peeled and sliced using a DitoDean vegetable slicer with a C2 blade, to achieve a slice thickness ofapproximately 1.60 mm. After slicing, 1000 grams of the raw potatoslices were rinsed for under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Thenthe rinsed slices were held in a solution containing 1000 grams water(43° C./110° F.), 10 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04,American Laboratories, Inc.) and 10 grams calcium chloride solution (32%solution Calcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. Theenzyme treated potato slices were drained, then blanched in 87° C./190°F. water containing 2% Cargill Sea Salt (3000 g cold water, plus 60 g.salt) for 1 minute before draining. The blanched potato slices wereplaced on a conveyor and run under an infra red heater unit for 30seconds. Then the partially dried slices were immediately put into anindustrial Air Force® impingement oven (Heat and Control Company,Hayward, Calif. 94545) set at 176° C./350° F. for 3 minutes. Thepartially dried potato slices were then piled together to create a beddepth of 1 inch, then processed through a second Air Force® impingementoven (Heat and Control Company, Hayward, Calif. 94545) for an additional3 minutes at 148° C./300° F. The process yielded approximately 200 gramsof fat free potato chips, which were cooled and packaged. The potatochips were evaluated by trained sensory professionals and were noted tohave a pleasant cooked potato flavor, golden color, and light crisptexture.

Example 22 Regular Fat-Free Potato Chips Made by Initial Dry inMicrowave, then Finish dry in Impingement Oven

Atlantic Variety chipping potatoes were peeled and sliced using a DitoDean vegetable slicer with a C2 blade, to achieve a slice thickness ofapproximately 1.60 mm. After slicing, 1000 grams of the raw potatoslices were rinsed for under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Thenthe rinsed slices were held in a solution containing 1000 grams water(43° C./110° F.), 10 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04,American Laboratories, Inc.) and 10 grams calcium chloride solution (32%solution Calcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes.Enzyme treated potato slices were drained, then blanched in 87° C./190°F. water containing 2% Cargill Sea Salt (3000 g cold water, plus 60 g.salt) for 1 minute before draining. The blanched potato slices wereplaced in on plastic disc and put into a Microwave Oven (AmanaRadarRange, Model No. RS415T, 1500 Watts, manufactured by AmanaAppliances, Amana, Iowa) for 1 minute at full power. After microwavedrying the partially dried potato slices were then placed directly onthe belt in an industrial Air Force® impingement oven (Heat and ControlCompany, Hayward, Calif. 94545) set at 176° C./350° F. for 1.5 minutes.The potato slices were then piled together to create a bed depth of 1inch, then ran through a second Air Force® impingement oven (Heat andControl Company, Hayward, Calif. 94545) for an additional 1.5 minutesbut at 148° C./300° F. The process yielded approximately 200 grams offat-free potato chips, which were cooled and packaged. The potato chipswere evaluated by trained sensory professionals and were noted to have apleasant cooked potato flavor, golden color, and light crisp texture.

Example 23 Larger Size, Puffed Potato Strips Made by Steam BlanchInstead of Immersion Blanch, Lincoln Impingement Finish

Yukon Gold potatoes were peeled and cut slices approximately 2 mm thick.These slices were then cut into strips approximately 6 mm wide, 6 cm inlength. Approximately 750 grams of the raw potato strips were rinsedunder 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed strips wereheld in a solution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 gramsbacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5grams calcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated potato strips weredrained, then blanched using steam in a M-6 Dixie VegetableBlancher/Cooler (Dixie Canning Company, Athens Ga., 30603) for 30seconds. The hot steam blanched potato strips were placed directly onperforated aluminum tray and put into an impingement oven (Impinger® I,Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne,Ind.) set at 135° C./275° F. Oven belt speed was set at 27 minutes.Every 5 minutes, the tray was shaken to stir the potato strips to allowfor even drying. The process yielded approximately 129 grams of fat-freepotato strips, with a light texture, approximately 90% of the stripspuffed into almost cylindrical shape, giving them the appearance ofcrispy French fries. The fat-free potato strips were judged by trainedsensory professionals to have a very rich buttery flavor, crisp lighttexture and appetizing appearance.

Example 24 Impingement Oven for Initial Dry, then Pulsing Fluid BedDryer for Final Regular Fat Free Potato Chips

Atlantic Variety chipping potatoes were peeled and sliced using a DitoDean vegetable slicer with a C2 blade, to achieve slice thicknesses ofapproximately 1.60 mm. After slicing, 1000 grams of the raw potatoslices were rinsed for under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Thenthe rinsed slices were held in a solution containing 1000 grams water(43° C./110° F.), 10 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04,American Laboratories, Inc.), 10 grams calcium chloride solution (32%solution Calcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. Theenzyme treated potato slices were drained, then blanched in 87° C./190°F. water containing 2% Cargill Sea Salt (3000 g cold water, plus 60 g.salt) for 1 minute before draining. The blanched potato slices wereplaced directly on the belt of and impingement oven set at 176° C./350°F., and dried for 1 minute to reduce the moisture content to 50%, thenthe chips were layered to a bed depth of 3 inches, then placed into anindustrial Aeropulse® pulsed-air fluid bed processor (AeroglideCorporation, Raleigh, N.C. 27626) set at 148° C./300° F. for 5 minutes.The process yielded approximately 200 grams of fat free potato chips,which were cooled and packaged. The potato chips were evaluated bytrained sensory professionals and were noted to have a pleasant cookedpotato flavor, golden color, and light crisp texture.

Example 25 Wavy or Ripple Fat-Free Potato Chips

Atlantic variety potatoes were peeled and sliced on a mandolincorrugated blade so that slices approximately 2 mm height at thethickest point and 1.65 mm at the thinnest point were formed verysimilar in appearance, shape and thickness to potato chips marketedcurrently under the names of “wavy” or “Ripple” chips. After slicing,500 grams of these the raw potato slices were rinsed for under 65° F.running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed slices were held in asolution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 grams bacterialamylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5 gramscalcium chloride solution (32% solution Calcium

Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for three minutes. The enzymetreated potato slices were drained, then blanched using steam in a M-6Dixie Vegetable Blancher/Cooler (Dixie Canning Company, Athens Ga.,30603) by exposing the slices directly to steam for 30 seconds atatmospheric conditions. Blanched potato slices were placed directly onand put into an impingement oven (Impinger®

I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne,Ind.) set at 140° C./285° F. Oven belt speed was set at 24 minutes. Theprocess yielded approximately 110 grams of fat-free potato chips, whichwere then cooled and packaged. The potato chips were evaluated bytrained sensory professionals and were noted to have a pleasant cookedpotato flavor, golden color, and light crisp texture.

Example 26 Puffy Potato Chips

Yukon Gold potatoes were peeled and cut into slices approximately 2 mmthick. Approximately 750 grams of these raw potato strips were rinsedunder 65° F. running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed slices wereheld in a solution containing 500 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 5 gramsbacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 5grams calcium chloride (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSM FoodSpecialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated potato slices weredrained, then blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing 2.5% CargillSea Salt (3000 g water, plus 75 g salt) for 1 minute 30 seconds beforedraining Blanched potato slices were placed directly on a wire belt andran through an impingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 fromLincoln Food Service Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 140°C./285° F. Oven belt speed was set at 9 minutes for the initial pass,then the potato slices were ran through again for 6 minutes. The processyielded approximately 135 grams of fat-free potato chips, with a lighttexture, approximately 90% of the chips puffed into a thicker shape witha pillow-like appearance and hollow center. These puffy, fat-free potatochips were judged by trained sensory professionals to have a very richbuttery flavor, crisp light texture, and appetizing appearance.

Example 27 Fat-Free Sweet Potato Chips

Organic Japanese Sweet Potatoes were peeled and sliced into slicesapproximately 1.8 mm thick. After slicing, 1000 grams of these raw sweetpotato slices were rinsed under 65° F. running water for 15 seconds.Then the rinsed slices were blanched in 87° C./190° F. water containing2% Cargill Sea Salt (2000 g cold water, plus 40 g salt) for 1 minute 30seconds before draining. Blanched slices were placed directly on chainbelt of impingement oven (Impinger® I, Model No. 1240 from Lincoln FoodService Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.) set at 140° C./285° F. Ovenbelt speed was set at 14 minutes. The process yielded approximately 230grams of fat-free sweet potato chips, which were cooled and packaged.The sweet potato chips were evaluated by trained sensory professionalsand were noted to have a very pleasant sweet flavor, bright orangecolor, and light crisp texture.

Example 28 Use of Rotary or Rotary Drum Dryer as the First Step of theCooking Process

Chipping potatoes were washed, peeled, sliced to approximately 1.55 mmthickness, and then washed and exposed to a solution containingbacterial amylase (Lot No. AL105175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.),and calcium chloride solution (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSMFood Specialties). Next the enzyme treated potato slices were drainedfollowed by blanching at 87° C./190° F. water containing 2% Cargill seasalt before then again draining. Then the blanched potato slices werecooled and stored. Several samples of the sliced potatoes were tested onan Omni Mark moisture analyzer available from Denver Equipment Companybefore and after the dehydrating step. The analyzer indicated that rawenzyme treated potato slices had a moisture level between 80% and 85%after blanching and just prior to drying.

The sliced potatoes were then placed in bulk form inside a rotary drumdryer provided by Spray Dynamics and partially dehydrated in massquantity at a temperature of about 300° F. for about 10 minutes. Thepartially dehydrated slices were then removed from the rotary dryer andvisually tested for quality, color, texture, breakage, smell and flavor.Surprisingly, all slices had an excellent texture, color, flavor, smell,and, even, more surprisingly minimal, if any, breakage, sticking or anyother visual impairment was noticed. The drying was uniform and allslices had similar color and a consistent level of dehydration.

The test was repeated for several times at temperatures ranging betweenabout 275° F. and about 350° F. and for periods as low as about 5 and ashigh as about 14 minutes. The visual results were all surprisingly goodas in the first trail and consistent among trials.

Moisture levels following the dehydrating processes of various lengthsbetween about 5 to about 14 minutes produced snack food slices with amoisture content ranging between about 40% and about 70%.

To further test the efficacy of the teachings of the present inventionan additional test was conducted using the rotary drum dryer availablefrom Spray Dynamics. Potato slices without enzyme treatment were placedin the drum dryer in the same manner as explained above and partiallydehydrated at 300° F. for periods as high as about 12 minutes. Theprocess consistently produced less preferable results as, following thedehydrating step, the slices had a color, texture, quality, flavor andodor deemed to be commercially undesirable. The drying was inconsistent.Some slices had dried out to a hard consistency similar to and/or as ofdehydrated potatoes. Other slices, however, were totally or partiallywet or even burnt totally or around the edges. It is believed that foodproducts containing high levels of starch will be greatly enhanced byusing an enzyme treatment as the enzyme treatment possibly breaks downthe sugars on the surface of the food slice.

Then, the pretreated dehydrated potato slices of potatoes processed inaccordance with the teachings of the present invention were used toproduce potato chips that have same texture, crunchiness, color, tasteand mouth feel as conventionally deep fried potato chips. Pretreatedpotato slices cooked at a temperature of about 300° F. for about 8minutes containing approximately 51% moisture (Pretreated DehydratedPotato Slices) were used in the following tests.

Example 28A

Approximately 5,000 grams of the Pretreated Dehydrated Potato Sliceswere poured onto the opening conveyer belt of a fluidized bed dryeravailable from Witte Company and were further massively subjected toheat at a temperature of about 325° F. for about 6 minutes. The airvelocity was between about 300 to about 350 cfm. The cooked PretreatedDehydrated Potato Slices were then left to cool down to ambienttemperature (80° F.). The resulting potato chips, included some airpockets/blistering resembling conventional fried chips, and hadexcellent texture, mouth feel, taste, color, and crunchiness totallycommensurate with or better than that of their counterpart potato chipsthat are made through conventionally deep frying methods. The trialyielded approximately 1,990 grams of fat free potato chips.

Example 28B

Approximately 1,500 grams of the Pretreated Dehydrated Potato Sliceswere placed in a multiple layer configuration on the conveyer belt of anindustrial Air Force® impingement oven (Heat and Control Company,Hayward, Calif. 94545) creating a bed depth of 1 inch, then processedfor 5.5 minutes at 148° C./300° F. The process yielded approximately 660grams of fat-free potato chips, which were cooled and packaged. Thepotato chips were evaluated by trained sensory professionals and werenoted to have a pleasant cooked potato flavor, golden color, and lightcrisp texture.

Example 28C

Approximately 2,000 grams of the Pretreated Dehydrated Potato Sliceswere processed further in a multi layer format using an industrialAeropulse® pulsed-air fluid bed processor (Aeroglide Corporation,Raleigh, N.C. 27626) set at 148° C./300° F. for 5 minutes. The processyielded approximately 830 grams of fat free potato chips, which werecooled and packaged. The potato chips were evaluated by trained sensoryprofessionals and were noted to have a pleasant cooked potato flavor,golden color, and light crisp texture.

Example 28D

Approximately 1000 grams of the Pretreated Dehydrated Potato Slices werefurther processed using a convection oven (Model #6203, Lincoln Steam'rOven, Lincoln Food Service Products, Fort Wayne, Ind.). The potatoslices were placed on perforated trays and cooked in the oven for 12minutes at 148° C./300° F. until the products were fully dried. Thetrial resulted in approximately 400 grams of finished fat free potatochips. The potato chips were evaluated by trained sensory professionalsand were noted to have a pleasant cooked potato flavor, golden color,and light crisp texture.

Example 28E

Approximately 2000 grams of the Pretreated Dehydrated Potato Slices werefurther processed in a stationary tray dryer (National Dryer MachineryCompany, Philadelphia, Pa.), by placing the potato slices in a layerapproximately ¾ inch deep and drying for 16 minutes at a temperature of148° C./300° F. The trial resulted in approximately 810 grams of fatfree potato chips.

These chips were evaluated by trained sensory professionals and werenoted to have a bright golden color, excellent potato chip flavor andlight crisp texture.

Example 29

Impingement oven for initial dry, then vibrating fluidized bed dryer forfinal Regular Fat Free Potato Chips: Snowden variety chipping potatoeswere washed and sliced using a Ditto Dean vegetable slicer with a C3blade, to achieve slice thicknesses of approximately 1.60 mm. Afterslicing, 3.95 lbs. of the raw potato slices were rinsed for under 65° F.running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed slices were held in asolution containing 3000 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 30 gramsbacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 30grams calcium chloride solution (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSMFood Specialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated potato slices weredrained, then blanched using steam in a M-6 Dixie VegetableBlancher/Cooler (Dixie Canning Company, Athens Ga., 30603) for 40seconds. The blanched potato slices were placed directly on the belt ofand impingement oven set at 176° C./350° F., and dried for 5 minutes toreduce the moisture content to 36%, then the chips were layered to a beddepth of 2 inches, then placed into an lab model vibrating fluid bedprocessor (Carrier Vibrating Equipment, Inc., Louisville, Ky. 40213)with a drilled hole type plate, and dried/cooked at 160° C./320° F. for2 minutes. The process yielded approximately 1 pound of fat free potatochips, which were cooled and packaged. The potato chips were evaluatedby trained sensory professionals and were noted to have a pleasantcooked potato flavor, golden color, and light crisp texture.

Example 30 Steam Blanch, then Vibrating Fluidized Bed Dryer for EntireDrying Step on Fat Free Sweet Potato Chips

Common variety sweet potatoes were washed, peeled, and sliced using aDitto Dean vegetable slicer with a C3 blade, to achieve slicethicknesses of approximately 1.80 mm. After slicing, 3.0 lbs. of the rawsweet potato slices were rinsed for under 65° F. running water for 15seconds. Then the rinsed slices were drained and blanched using steam ina M-6 Dixie Vegetable Blancher/Cooler (Dixie Canning Company, AthensGa., 30603) for 50 seconds. The blanched sweet potato slices were rinsedunder cold water spray for 3 minutes, drained then stored in plasticbags in a cooler overnight. The blanched sweet potato slices werelayered to a bed depth of 2 inches in an lab model vibrating fluid bedprocessor (Carrier Vibrating Equipment, Inc., Louisville, Ky. 40213)with a drilled hole type plate, and dried/cooked at 176° C./350° F. for4 minutes. Temperature of the processor was then reduced to 160° C./320°F. and product was cooked for an additional 2 minutes before theprocessor temperature was reduced to 148° C./300° F. for additional twominutes of final drying/cooking time. The sequential temperaturereductions allowed for a controlled drying process, maintaining producttemperature below 148° C./300° F. at the final stages of drying when noevaporative cooling was taking place to prevent product browning andcontrolling caramelization of natural sugars present in the product.This controlled process yielded approximately 0.75 of fat-free sweetpotato chips, which were cooled and packaged. The sweet potato chipswere evaluated by trained sensory professionals and were noted to have avery pleasant sweet flavor, bright orange color, and light crisptexture.

The above process was repeated a number of times with sweet potatoesthat were additionally treated with calcium chloride, amylase enzyme andthe combination of the two yielding desired products with great color,texture and taste.

Additionally, pears, apples, squash, and a varieties of carrotsincluding yellow, orange, white and purple carrots were processed insimilar procedures as above all resulting in excellent products havinggreat taste, color and texture.

Example 31 Steam Blanch, then Vibrating Fluidized Bed Dryer for EntireDrying Step on Fat Free Potato Sticks

Common Russet potatoes were washed, peeled, and sliced using a DittoDean vegetable slicer with an AS-4 blade, to achieve juilienne slice orstick shape with 2.0 mm square, and average length of 8 cm. Afterslicing, 2.80 lbs. of the raw potato sticks were rinsed for under 65° F.running water for 15 seconds. Then the rinsed potato sticks weredrained, held in a solution containing 3000 grams water (43° C./110°F.), 30 grams bacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, AmericanLaboratories, Inc.), 30 grams calcium chloride solution (32% solutionCalcium Chloride from DSM Food Specialties) for 3 minutes. The enzymetreated potato sticks were drained, and blanched using steam in a M-6Dixie Vegetable Blancher/Cooler (Dixie Canning Company, Athens Ga.,30603) for 55 seconds. The blanched potato sticks were rinsed under coldwater spray for 3 minutes, drained, then potato sticks were marinated ina in a solution containing 1000 g. water, 75 grams of tomato juice, 10grams lemon juice, 10 grams carrot juice plus 10 grams of salt in acooler overnight. The following day, the marinated potato sticks weredrained and layered to a bed depth of 2 inches in an lab model vibratingfluid bed processor (Carrier Vibrating Equipment, Inc., Louisville, Ky.40213) with a drilled hole type plate, and dried/cooked at 160° C./320°F. for 6 minutes. Temperature of the processor was then reduced to 148°C./300° F. and product was cooked for an additional 2 minutes before theprocessor temperature was reduced to 140° C./285° F. for additional twominutes of final drying time. The sequential temperature reductionsallowed for a controlled drying process, maintaining product temperaturebelow 148° C./300° F. at the final stages of drying when no evaporativecooling was taking place to prevent product browning and controllingcaramelization of natural sugars present in the product. This controlledprocess yielded approximately 0.60 of fat-free potato sticks, which werecooled and packaged. The resulting product was very bright golden incolor, with a pleasant, slightly salty buttery potato flavor and havingan excellent crispy light texture.

Example 32 Fat-Free Tortilla Chips Using Vibrating Fluidized Bed Dryerfor Final Cooking

Commercial 6 inch diameter white corn tortillas were purchased at thelocal grocery store, each tortilla was cut into eight wedges ortriangles. Approximately 500 grams of these tortilla pieces were held ina solution containing 3000 grams water (43° C./110° F.), 30 gramsbacterial amylase (Lot No. ALI05175-04, American Laboratories, Inc.), 30grams calcium chloride solution (32% solution Calcium Chloride from DSMFood Specialties) for 3 minutes. The enzyme treated tortilla pieces weredrained, then layered to a bed depth of 1½ inches and placed into a labmodel vibrating fluid bed processor (Carrier Vibrating Equipment, Inc.,Louisville, Ky. 40213) with a drilled hole type plate, and dried/cookedat 160° C./320° F. for 7 minutes. The process yielded approximately 200grams of tortilla chips, which were cooled and packaged. The tortillachips were evaluated by trained sensory professionals and were noted tohave a pleasant cooked tortilla flavor, a very light golden color,smooth appearance, and light crisp texture. When compared with a sampleprocessed in a similar manner but without the enzyme treatment, thesample processed using the procedure of the present invention was notedto be much lighter in texture and exhibited a lighter crunch andcrispiness. The sample processed without enzyme treatment but ratherheld in just water for 3 minutes was tough and less crispy than the onewhich was produced using the process of the present invention.

Example 33 Crispness Tests

Vegetable snack chips are favored for their crispy, crunchy bite whichis particularly characteristic of traditional fried chips. Crispness andcrunchiness can be quantified with an instrument that records the forcerequired to break chips as well as their stiffness prior to failure. Theratio of increased resistance to increased flexure or deformation isYoung's modulus (also called the elastic modulus). Vickers andChristensen (Vickers, Z. M. and Christensen, C M. 1980. Relationshipbetween sensory crispness and other sensory and instrumental parameters.Journal of Texture Studies 11: 291-307.) found that, of instrumentalmeasurements, Young's modulus had the highest correlation to crispnessin foods. These authors showed that it is also helpful to record thesound made when the chip breaks since they found crispness was veryclosely related to loudness during fracture. The importance of snackfood sound is underscored by Vickers' (Vickers, Z. M. 1983. Pleasantnessof Food Sounds. Journal of Food Science 48: 783-786.) observation thatpleasantness of food sounds was highly correlated with descriptors‘crisp’ and ‘crunchy.’

Accordingly, to be perceived as crisp and crunchy, snack food productsneed to have an adequate stiffness, (as reflected in Young's modulus)and to emit at least a certain level of sound upon breaking. At the sametime, snack food products should not require so great a force as tocause mouth pain or injury. To evaluate crispness, samples werefractured on a TA.XT Plus Texture Analyzer (Stable Microsystems,Godalming, U.K.) fitted with a TA-101 Chip Rig and a 5 kg load cell. TheTA-101 rig has 2 cm diameter by 2 cm tall pipe which supports the chipin a horizontal position. A 5 mm ball descended at 1 mm/sec until 5 gresistance was sensed, then it continued 30 mm and the force ofresistance was recorded as the chip bent and fractured. A StableMicrosystems Audio Envelope Detector was used to record the soundproduced during fracture.

To demonstrate the crispness/crunch of various snack products,representative samples were analyzed to measure the force required andacoustic levels resulting from fracturing chips. The analysis methodsconsisted of testing samples of chips listed in Table 3 below, labeled Athrough M, with samples A, B, C, D, L and M being produced in accordanceto the present invention as described in examples 28, 24, 25, 26, 27 and5 respectively, with retail samples E, F, G, H, I J, and K purchased ata local grocery store in Lincoln, Nebr. Representative chips wereselected from each sample, handled, and analyzed in a consistent mannerto obtain the data presented in Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6.

From each sample of about 25 chips, 9 chips were selected for the test.The more uniform chips were selected for measurement, because chips werevariable in thickness and blistering. The nine selected chips werefractured and measurements were made of the force required to fractureeach chip as the probe broke each chip while moving toward the chip at auniform speed of 1 mm/second. Exponent software was used to generate aplot of force (Newtons) against distance (mm), and to determine (1) theinitial slope, which is Young's Modulus, as discussed above, (2) thepeak force required to fracture the chip and (3) peak loudness uponfracture of the chip. Excel Spreadsheet software was used to calculatemeans, standard deviation and coefficient of variation. Prior to thisobjective testing, samples A, B, C, D, L and M were all tasted and foundto be favorably crisp and crunchy and samples E through K weredetermined to be within the indicated shelf life on the originalpackage.

Graphs plotting force (N) against distance (mm) traveled by the probewere generated for each force measurement. Each of these plots depict aseries of increases in resistance to applied force as the chip bendsunder pressure from the probe just prior to fracture. The probe ismoving toward the chip at a constant velocity of 1 mm per second (1mm/sec). In each case, the increase in resistance to applied force isfollowed by a sudden drop in resistance to such force as the chipbreaks. In most cases, the chips fracture and break in a series offractures. The first fracture, however, is the focus for determining thepeak force required to fracture the chip. The peaks created in this way,characterize the chip's texture, i.e., how much does the chip resistbending before breaking, how far will it bend before breaking and atwhat distance and force does it break. These quantities ‘fingerprint’fracture properties and their crispness and crunchiness. The sudden lossin resistance (after the force peaks) is accompanied by a recorded soundevent since the chip is set vibrating by the sudden loss in deformationand stress. As noted above, typical graphs include 2 to 4 major forcepeaks and a corresponding number of sound peaks. The slope prior to eachpeak estimates the aforementioned Young's modulus, which is a goodestimate of crunchiness. Since the samples tested were all crisp, any ofthe chips with an average Young's modulus greater than 3.5 N/mm areclearly crisp. In accordance with the present invention, it ispreferable to product a snack food product with a Young's modulus ofabout 3.5, more preferably about 4.0, even more preferably 4.5, and evenmore preferably about 5.0 N/mm. It is also preferable to have a snackfood product that will fracture at about 12, preferable about 10 andmore preferably about 9 N of force applied to the chip so that the snackfood product is crunchy but does not require so much force so that ishurts to eat the product.

The results of testing are provided in Tables 3-6 below. The resultingsound levels listed in Table 5 below do not have units as they are arelative number.

TABLE 3 Mean average for greatest force, sound and initial Young'smodulus from the data presented in Tables 4-6. Young's Force PeakModulus Sample Peak (N) Sound (N/mm) A—Thin chip of the presentinvention 3.95 4097 13.7 B—Wavy chip of the present invention 4.58 37448.5 C—Puffy chip of the present invention 6.65 5968 19.7 D—Thick chip ofthe present invention 7.12 4139 15.7 E—Lays ® Classic 3.19 927 5.7F—Lays ® Fat Free with OLESTRA ™ 2.59 1142 4.2 G—Lays ® Kettle CookedChips 5.14 1616 10.8 H—Kettle ™ Chips (Kettle Brand) 7.45 1447 14.2I—Low Fat Kettle ™ Krisp 5.65 23229 9.9 J—Kettle ™ Brand Bakes 6.23 388610.2 K—Terra ® Yukon Gold 9.06 10513 18.3 L—Sweet potato chips of thepresent 8.77 6943 18.9 invention M—Beet chips of the present invention3.62 3758 7.3

TABLE 4 Maximum Force (N). % Coefficient REP1 REP2 REP3 REP4 REP5 REP6REP7 REP8 REP9 MEAN of Variation A 1.20 3.77 1.62 2.84 7.39 3.45 5.415.29 4.53 3.95 50% B 4.05 5.65 3.64 5.09 2.19 2.68 5.89 4.64 7.38 4.5836% C 7.47 6.78 2.99 8.60 8.55 4.63 5.51 8.04 7.30 6.65 29% D 8.14 8.057.11 7.76 4.86 6.38 10.37 7.63 3.79 7.12 27% E 2.29 5.03 2.54 2.35 3.925.96 1.52 2.51 2.60 3.19 46% F 2.77 1.74 2.19 2.54 1.97 2.80 4.32 2.312.71 2.59 29% G 4.65 4.30 4.88 3.56 6.44 4.21 4.51 5.81 7.89 5.14 26% H9.69 7.43 8.67 9.85 5.87 8.16 4.41 6.64 6.37 7.45 24% I 5.56 3.73 6.554.19 4.50 8.97 8.72 3.56 5.03 5.65 36% J 2.06 7.56 6.94 11.94 6.39 2.958.12 4.00 6.16 6.23 48% K 11.68 9.37 10.75 10.88 7.20 5.97 11.10 8.755.87 9.06 25% L 8.88 8.88 11.22 7.25 10.10 6.35 7.59 6.53 12.13 8.77 23%M 2.73 2.02 3.15 4.81 3.64 3.93 5.74 3.30 3.28 3.62 31%

TABLE 5 Loudness. % Coefficient REP1 REP2 REP3 REP4 REP5 REP6 REP7 REP8REP9 MEAN of Variation A 1587 4402 2229 2140 6902 4266 7714 4349 32874097 51% B 4427 3933 4247 4741 1728 3965 5592 2412 2656 3745 33% C 66187134 5599 7986 8598 5215 2246 5510 4813 5969 32% D 5211 4778 7179 47532436 4804 4158 2361 1577 4140 42% E 1293 915 634 583 1198 1432 875 633782 927 34% F 389 661 634 1264 1299 1284 2544 1202 1008 1143 55% G 22691030 880 1462 2242 810 1355 1825 2674 1616 42% H 1549 1877 819 1132 18391571 1181 1041 2020 1448 29% I 5558 4560 8370 1698 5257 7193 4318 34794537 4997 39% J 1538 2237 4534 5610 1539 4445 6575 4060 4441 3887 45% K506 1409 1175 1626 1136 935 630 938 1107 1051 33% L 7600 6965 1175 79095915 4004 8198 6015 4132 6944 34% M 2806 3791 2668 3527 3171 5403 62262593 3638 3758 33%

TABLE 6 Young's Modulus (N/mm). % Coefficient REP1 REP2 REP3 REP4 REP5REP6 REP7 REP8 REP9 MEAN of Variation A 11.3 18.0 22.2 5.8 6.5 16.0 11.815.6 16.5 13.7 39% B 11.3 8.5 9.6 4.5 5.0 10.6 6.9 8.0 12.4 8.5 32% C19.1 18.4 8.9 28.1 18.6 22.7 17.7 27.2 16.5 19.7 30% D 14.3 16.0 18.316.6 18.1 7.1 22.0 14.0 14.8 15.7 26% E 4.9 16.4 5.0 4.1 6.3 5.5 1.1 3.64.1 5.7 75% F 4.8 2.1 5.5 3.1 3.7 6.2 1.0 6.9 4.5 4.2 46% G 11.3 13.99.0 6.8 21.2 3.1 6.5 8.3 17.0 10.8 53% H 25.4 19.8 15.8 12.8 13.5 11.98.7 13.6 6.6 14.2 40% I 8.2 2.2 15.0 3.8 21.0 14.4 15.9 3.4 5.8 9.9 68%J 3.8 11.9 8.8 13.4 3.6 10.2 23.6 7.2 9.0 10.2 59% K 21.9 4.7 27.6 22.130.2 12.7 24.1 19.2 2.2 18.3 53% L 25.6 1.0 22.0 9.8 26.7 23.9 17.4 16.626.8 18.9 46% M 7.0 6.0 5.6 11.2 5.2 7.8 10.2 6.6 6.4 7.3 28%

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modificationsand variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light ofthe foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to include allsuch alternatives, modifications and variations as set forth within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a snack food productcomprising, (a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces; (b)optionally, exposing the food pieces for about 0.5-5 minutes to asolution comprising an effective amount of a starch-reducing enzyme; (c)blanching the food pieces, wherein the food pieces have an initialmoisture level after the blanching step; (d) reducing the initialmoisture level of the food pieces in the absence of frying in oil bybringing the food pieces to a first temperature for a first time periodto reduce the initial moisture level to about 40-70 wt-%; and (e)bringing the food pieces to a second temperature for a second time toyield the snack food product containing up to about 35 wt-% fat andabout 0.5-15 wt-% moisture, that exhibits a characteristic of a snackfood product produced by frying a food piece in oil wherein thecharacteristic is selected from the group consisting of texture, flavor,crispness, crunchiness, color and appearance.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the second temperature is lower than the first temperature. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) is omitted.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein bringing the food pieces to the first temperature forthe first time period comprises cooking the food pieces at a temperatureof about 275-375° F. for a time of about 2-20 minutes.
 5. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the food pieces are cooked at the first temperature andthe first time period at about 275-350° F. for about 4-12 minutes. 6.The method of claim 4, wherein bringing the food pieces to the secondtemperature for the second time period comprises cooking the food piecesat a temperature of about 275-350° F. for a time of about 4 to about 12minutes.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the food pieces are cooked atthe second temperature and second time period at about 300-325° F. forabout 6-12 minutes.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the snack foodproduct has a ratio of percent by weight of moisture to percent byweight of fat of at least about 12:1.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe snack food product has an average force of fracture of less than orequal to 12 N, and an average Young's modulus of equal to or greaterthan about 3.5 N/mm.
 10. The method of claim 4, wherein the food piecesare cooled and stored at ambient, refrigeration or freezer conditionsafter the food pieces are brought to the first temperature for the firsttime period, and before the food pieces are brought to the secondtemperature for the second time period.
 11. The method of claim 1,further comprising a step of (f) applying a predetermined amount ofdigestible and/or synthetic fat or oil to the snack food product. 12.The method of claim 1, wherein the moisture content of the resultingsnack food product is about 0.5-10% by weight.
 13. The method of claim1, wherein said blanching comprises a wet blanch.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein said wet blanch comprises treating said cut foodpieces in an aqueous solution at a temperature of about 60° C. to 120°C., and for about 30 seconds to about 10 minutes.
 15. The method ofclaim 13, wherein said wet blanch comprises treating said cut foodpieces in an aqueous solution at a temperature of about 70° C. to 100°C., and for about 30 seconds to about 3 minutes.
 16. The method of claim1, wherein said blanching step comprises a dry blanch.
 17. The method ofclaim 3, wherein said blanching step occurs in a blanching mediumcomprising digestible and/or synthetic fat or oil.
 18. The method ofclaim 1, that further comprises application of a digestible and/orsynthetic oil to said food pieces after step (d).
 19. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising blanching the food pieces in a solutioncomprising one or more cations.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein theone or more cations are selected from the group consisting of sodiumsalts, calcium salts, magnesium salts, potassium salts, aluminumcompounds and nitrogen compounds.
 21. The method of claim 20, whereinthe one or more cations are selected from the group consisting of NaCl,KCl, MgCl₂, and CaCl₂.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the one ormore cations is present in the solution at a concentration of about 0.1to about 5% by weight.
 23. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) isincluded and the enzymes are one or more of alpha amylase, beta amylaseor amyloglucosidase.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or moreenzymes is present in the solution at a concentration of about 0.1 toabout 5% by weight.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the food piecesare exposed to the solution for a time of about 1 to about 3 minutes.26. The method of claim 1, wherein bringing the food pieces to the firsttemperature for the first time period comprises drying the food piecesin a rotary dryer, rotary drum dryer, rotary spiral drum dryer,fluidized bed dryer/oven or vibrating fluidized bed dryer/oven.
 27. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said food is selected from the groupconsisting of beets, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, apples, pears,bananas, rutabaga, plantain, taro, okra, onions, parsnips, yams, sweetpotatoes, yucca, and potatoes.
 28. The method of claim 1, wherein saidcut food pieces are slices, strips or sticks.
 29. The method of claim 1,wherein the reducing step (d) comprises cooking the food pieces in oneor more dryers or ovens independently selected from the group consistingof forced air convection ovens, fluidized bed dryers/ovens, vibratingfluidized bed dryers/ovens, impingement dryers/ovens, pulsed fluidizedbed dryers/ovens, rotary dryers/ovens, rotary drum dryers/ovens, rotaryspiral drum dryers/ovens, tray ovens, stationary dryers/ovens, spiralroasters/dryers, microwave dryers/ovens, infrared dryers/ovens, superheat airless driers, vacuum driers, vacuum belt driers/ovens and ohmicdryers.
 30. The method of claim 1, wherein a predetermined amount ofdigestible or synthetic fat and/or oil is applied to the food pieces.